Most existing commercial passenger transport aircraft include a pressurized fuselage, a wing positioned toward the middle of the fuselage, and a tail positioned aft of the wing. The tail typically includes (horizontal) pitch and (vertical) yaw stability and control surfaces, and is mounted to an unpressurized empennage attached to the aft portion of the fuselage. In some arrangements, the entire horizontal portion of the tail moves as a unit relative to the fuselage. In other arrangements, the tail includes a fixed horizontal stabilizer and a movable elevator. In yet another arrangement, the tail includes a slow moving horizontal stabilizer and a fast moving elevator. In any arrangement, the structure required to support the tail surfaces and the actuators required to move the tail surfaces can be located in the unpressurized empennage of the aircraft without impacting the volume of the passenger cabin in the pressurized fuselage.
One drawback with the foregoing arrangement is that it may not be suitable for commercial passenger aircraft having pitch axis stability and control surfaces (such as canards) axially aligned with the pressurized fuselage. For example, integrating the support structure and actuator equipment required for these stability and control surfaces can have a substantial adverse impact on the volume of the passenger cabin.